The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a disappointing loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4. That wasn't necessarily the fault of quarterback Justin Fields, who, aside from one bad fumble, played a pretty solid game overall. As a 3-1 team begins to prepare for a Week 5 Sunday Night Football showdown versus the Dallas Cowboys, a decision needs to be made regarding which player will lead the offense: Fields or veteran Russell Wilson. It seems hard to imagine that Head Coach Mike Tomlin would bench Fields after strong play through four weeks, but could the loss to the Colts trigger a change if Wilson is healthy?
The veteran in Wilson is probably more than anxious to get back on the field, but it's possible that his starting spot associated with the phrase of the summer, "pole position", is no longer relevant. If Tomlin does indeed decide to go with Fields moving forward, it could trigger a chain of events that leads to Wilson never playing a regular season snap for the Steelers.
Not many teams may be on the lookout for veteran quarterbacks currently, but an interesting organization comes to mind given its current situation. After a rough Monday Night Football loss to the Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel noted that there are likely to be significant changes for his squad after a 1-3 start.
"Bottom line is it doesn’t matter what we’re doing behind the scenes," McDaniel said. "On the field that’s not even close to good enough, so you just have to go back to the drawing board and assess very critically.”
The first decision that could lead to a potential Wilson trade is Tomlin officially putting Fields at the top spot on the depth chart. Paired with that is Wilson requesting to be dealt and waiving the no-trade clause that is in his contract. The second decision needs to be that of the Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa. After suffering yet another concussion, does it make sense to put him back on the gridiron in 2024 as his team sits with a record of 1-3.
Wilson riding the bench in 2024 will do no favors for his career, especially after a rough two seasons with the Denver Broncos. His only chance to prove that he is worth another contract with starter-type money is to play and do so impressively. The intricacies of a potential deal are intriguing due to the no-trade clause, and because Wilson is one of the Steelers' captains.
Depending on how desperate the Dolphins could be, it's not unfeasible to believe a team with Super Bowl aspirations entering the regular season wouldn't be willing to offer up a day two pick for a veteran with a championship pedigree. This all could hinge on the decision of Tagovailoa, that could be just a little bit easier now with the slow start down in Miami.
The Steelers aren't going to be in any rush to deal Wilson if he does decide to waive his no-trade clause, but the locker room issues that could come out of it may have General Manager Omar Khan ready to make a phone call if the opportunity presents itself. It's a bit of a dominant effect-like scenario, but it has a chance to be on the table depending on a couple key decisions.
Steelers Likely To Still Be Comfortable With Backup If Wilson Is Indeed Dealt
In the small sample size that Pittsburgh has seen from Kyle Allen, the veteran has proven that he is a capable backup. He has dressed each game in 2024 with Wilson acting as the emergency third quarterback. If one thing leads to another and Wilson does end up being traded somewhere, Khan and co. would only be pulling the trigger if the organization had the utmost confidence in Allen.
